Saturday, June 5, 2010

Unless you are big into the Uruguay shot-on-video horror market, chances are you've never heard of FULL MOON (1993; aka PLENILUNIO, not to be confused with a 1999 film from Spain with the same title). And guess what? You are still waking up, walking, talking, breathing, and going on with your life as normal so actively seeking out FULL MOON at this point in your life means you are some sort of masochist or dumbass (take your pick).

The town of Colonia is under siege thanks to a string of murders happening on full moons. The police are mum on the details, but the locals whisper of victims being torn apart, as if attacked by a wild animal. Covering the case for a local TV station is Roberto, a TV cameraman who seems to only hang out with kids (creepy). A couple of the kids head into the woods with a steak to try and capture the beast JAWS-style. What they run into is a creepy albino guy who lives in a shack. Roberto and a kid check out the place and get attacked by the guy before escaping. While everyone is conferring on what to do at the rinky-dink TV station, our albino shows up and unleashes the beast on them.

There isn't really much to say abou this one. Hell, the only reason I got it was to check off "See a film from Uruguay" on my cinema bucket list. I should have looked harder. I find it amazing that someone actually took the time to fansub this film. Think early Andreas Schnaas minus the budget and gore and you might get the right idea. You have to admire the enthusiasm by all involved, but it is amateurish on every level. In fact, the most interesting thing about the film is seeing a guy reading a South American edition of Fangoria. It makes sense that 90% of the actors are kids because, I suspect, that every sane adult was like, "Uh, I've got to go drink some Grappamiel" or something. Then again, maybe kids only got the sophisticated humor? The big comedy gag has some kids putting a condom in a friend's birthday pizza. "I thought it was an onion," the kid exclaims as he pulls it out of his mouth. This gag is referenced again during the final scene.

According to his own website, director Ricardo Islas started working at Channel 3 in Uruguay as a teenager and, holy moly, that is where a majority of this film is set. No doubt by the time he had reached his early 20s in 1993, he had enough clout to pressure his bosses to make this. The FX are really laughable. Most of the gore is kept off screen but the few instances remind me of the messes I would make when I was 12 (see above pic). The albino werewolf is downright hilarious and looks like a cross between a poorly drawn Tex Avery wolf and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. There is a reason Islas only shows it in split second shots. Take a look: